Marcos Sousa Monteiro is a Managing Associate in the Mainstream Corporate practice of our Lisbon office. He joined because of the challenge Linklaters can offer him.

“I’ll admit it. When I was asked to join, I had doubts. Why should I change from what I was already doing? Did I have it in me to be successful at a large international firm? Would I be up to the challenge? In the end, though, these were questions I needed to answer for myself – and that’s why I joined Linklaters.

“You certainly need to be at the top of your game here: you need commitment and drive – on top of your talent – to push forward the kind of complex deals you find here. You also need to be ready for anything. The reality is that a multi-billion dollar deal could literally appear overnight, without much warning. That’s the excitement of working in the Corporate practice here, but of course not everybody will enjoy it.

“I’ll add a word of mitigation, however: if you have the belief in your own ability, Linklaters has everything you might need to rise to the challenge. There’s the regular knowledge sharing; the tremendous expertise you can draw on; the global network of contacts. Then, there’s the collective attitude: you know that people will be willing to help you out even if it’s two o’clock in the morning and they’re just about to go home. It sounds like a marketing line, but you really do get the feeling that everybody is pulling in the same direction – together.”